The Commercialisation of the Book of Kells: Culture or Capital?
Trinity College Dublin’s Old Library houses one of the world’s most iconic manuscripts — the Book of Kells, an illuminated Gospel text created by Irish monks over 1,200 years ago. For decades, it has been central to Trinity’s identity, its branding, and increasingly, its revenue streams. In recent years, the college has leaned heavily into the Book of Kells not just as a cultural artefact, but as a commercial asset. With ticket prices rising and revenues exceeding €20 million in 2023, the Book of Kells exhibition now sits at the centre of a debate: how much of this income benefits students and teaching, and how much is locked into the heritage and tourism economy?
According to figures reported in The Irish Times, the Book of Kells exhibition, along with income from the Old Library shop and guided tours, generated €20.2 million in the 2022–2023 financial year — a 21% increase on the €16.7 million recorded the previous year. These figures reflect a post-pandemic rebound in tourism, with Trinity reasserting itself as one of Ireland’s most visited cultural destinations. In fact, the exhibition has consistently ranked among the top five paid attractions in the country, drawing more than one million visitors per year pre-COVID.
Trinity College operates the Book of Kells exhibition through its commercial subsidiary, Trinity College Dublin Commercial Revenue Unit (CRU), which manages the college’s income-generating operations. The CRU oversees not only the exhibition, but also branded merchandise, event hire, and guided tours of the campus. While these are part of the university's broader public-facing mission, they also form a separate income stream that is not directly folded into the university’s core academic budget.
On its website, the college states that revenue from the Book of Kells is “reinvested into the academic mission of the university and the conservation of the Old Library.” However, the specifics of that reinvestment are not always transparent. In the most recent publicly available financial statements, income from the exhibition appears under “other income” and is not itemised in terms of its allocation. This opacity has led some to question whether the money is meaningfully contributing to the quality of teaching, student services, or campus infrastructure outside of heritage management.
A major project currently funded in part by Book of Kells revenue is the redevelopment of the Old Library itself. Known as the “Old Library Redevelopment Project,” this €90 million initiative will see major conservation work, fire safety upgrades, and the transformation of exhibition spaces. The Book of Kells will be temporarily relocated during the project. According to Trinity, this redevelopment is essential to protect the manuscript and the broader library collections, many of which date back centuries. A significant portion of this project is being supported through revenue from ticket sales, but also by philanthropic donations and state grants.
The focus on capital works tied to the Book of Kells has, however, raised questions among some staff and students about priorities. While the Long Room and the manuscript are being carefully preserved, other teaching and learning facilities across campus — including lecture theatres, laboratories, and student spaces — remain under strain, with outdated infrastructure and limited seating. In the 2025 QS World University Rankings, Trinity ranked 87th globally, and while the college continues to market itself as a world-class institution, many argue that teaching and learning environments no longer match the image projected to tourists and donors.
The commercial success of the Book of Kells has also shaped Trinity’s brand identity. The manuscript features heavily in the college’s international marketing campaigns, on its official merchandise, and in its partnerships with tourism agencies. This has helped position the college as both an academic and cultural landmark. But there are tensions in this dual identity: Trinity is often expected to act as a national museum without the funding protections that would come with being one.
Student access to the Old Library has been affected, too. Several years ago, the Long Room was closed off to undergraduate library users, as its function shifted more fully towards exhibition and public display. During peak tourist months, queues for the Book of Kells can stretch out onto campus, and students using the library or adjacent spaces must navigate crowds of visitors, tour groups, and security barriers. Some students have expressed frustration that a core part of their campus has become an attraction more than a learning environment.
The university defends its strategy as both necessary and beneficial. In the context of shrinking state support and increasing demands on higher education budgets, the ability to generate independent revenue is seen as a strength. Few other universities in the world can boast a cultural asset with the drawing power of the Book of Kells, and Trinity has leveraged that to fund heritage conservation, attract donors, and support some academic initiatives.
Nevertheless, the question remains: should the Book of Kells serve primarily as a financial engine, or as an academic resource? And more pointedly, who should benefit from its success? While the manuscript may have been produced by monks, its modern custodians face a thoroughly secular challenge — balancing cultural stewardship with commercial reality.
As Trinity embarks on its Old Library redevelopment and continues to expand its commercial operations, students and staff alike may call for greater transparency in how cultural revenue is used. The Book of Kells may be a public treasure, but the distribution of the treasure it generates is a matter still very much up for debate.
